


The First Spring

by purplelacemoon



Category: Billary - Fandom, Political RPF - US 20th c.
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-07-11 00:49:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15961148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplelacemoon/pseuds/purplelacemoon
Summary: In the Spring of 1971, he met a girl.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> There may not be a huge amount of conflict in this so hopefully it's not going to be totally uninteresting or predictable! But the current plan is for this to be the story of their first year together...more or less how I imagine it happened at least and based on what they've both written about it. 
> 
> The prologue is ridiculously short I know so I will update again asap hopefully by tomorrow so the story will actually properly get started! <3

**_Yale Law School, March 1971_ **

Bill Clinton glanced over at her from across the lecture hall. _The girl in the long flowery skirt._

Professor Emerson’s voice slowly became white noise in the background as he watched the young woman twirling her pen between her fingers and Bill felt more and more enamored.

She was chewing gum, listening to something her friend was whispering to her with a nod of her head and an intense expression which defied her years but soft features which radiated her youth. She was wearing large glasses that slightly hid the bright blue of her eyes, with long dark blonde hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. Every now and then she glanced up at the board at the front of the lecture hall and scribbled down some notes, reminding Bill that he should be doing the same but he was somehow rendered completely unable to tear his gaze away.  
  
He hoped he was being subtle. She was only seated two rows across from him and slightly further forward, so he was fairly sure that his persistent staring was passing undetected.  
  
Political and Civil Rights wasn’t a class he attended all that frequently, but it was fast becoming his favorite place to be ever since he had discovered it allowed him to spend some time in a room with _her._  
  
He glanced over again as she raised her hand and answered a question. There was something so enthralling about the way she held herself that he couldn’t quite put his finger on; the energy she gave off and the self assured confidence of her arguments was so captivating to him whenever he heard her speak in class. Her tone was clear and direct, very Midwestern and slightly loud in a way that made you want to turn and listen to her and he was completely fascinated. He knew a few of his classmates were intimidated by her, viewed her as someone they wouldn’t want to be caught on the wrong side of an argument with but Bill felt the exact opposite. He noted she was always willing to hear the other side of something; to share her opinions then listen to those who disagreed with her and stand her ground without being dismissive or divisive. Although much to his delight she occasionally could be wonderfully sarcastic when she considered that to be the only worthy remaining response at her disposal.  
  
He watched the way she was concentrating now, nodding along to the points Professor Emerson was making as though there was no one else in the class and he was speaking directly to her. She still held her pen in her hand and as the hour ticked by he grinned as he noticed her absentmindedly drawing spiral shapes in the margin of her notebook while she listened.  
  
Eventually the clock hit 4pm and the lecture ended, a flurry of activity and noise instantly erupting as a hundred or so students rushed to make their way out of the stifling restrains of the busy lecture hall. Bill quickly fumbled with his papers, shoving them into a folder as his attention wandered back to the girl in the second row. His gaze followed her fingers as they collected up her pencils and he was drawn to the softness and deliberateness of each of her movements as she organized her things back into her blue shoulder bag.  
  
There was something so magnetic about every little thing she did, and as he watched her head towards the exit Bill was positively yearning to talk to her. Among other things.  
  
Being on the back foot had never been a part of his nature. Usually he was the first person to thrust out his hand and greet somebody new like they were an old friend, putting everyone in the perimeter at ease with his charismatic charm and warm disposition.

But something about this time was different. As he walked up behind her something seemed to slow his steps and as much as much as he wanted to reach out and speak to her, something inside of him froze his feet to the spot just as he got close enough to make contact.  
  
_Somehow I knew that this wasn’t another tap on the shoulder, that I might be starting something I couldn’t stop._  
  
Before he had a chance to pull himself together and think twice about it she had turned the corner. He had missed his chance and she was gone.


	2. The Law Library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear the chapters will gradually get longer than this!! Thank you so much everyone who commented and enjoyed the first chapter so far, I've definitely missed writing multi chapter stories

 

 

> _“She was in my face from the start, and before I knew it, in my heart.”  
>  _

  
Hillary could feel his eyes on her as she turned the pages of the book she had long since abandoned actually trying to read.  
  
It had been an hour now. An hour of her glancing up, locking eyes with the young man who was clearly staring at her and expecting him to quickly look away each time she caught him.  
  
But he didn’t.  
  
Instead they maintained eye contact, somehow having a silent conversation all of their own from opposite ends of the impressive length of the law library while everyone else around them remained oblivious in their own worlds.  
  
A classmate, Jeff Gleckel, was standing beside Bill and enthusiastically trying to persuade him to join the Yale Law Journal, rattling off all the benefits and mostly unaware that his very well presented case was falling largely on deaf ears. Bill nodded here and there, intercepting with enough “mm-hm’s” and “yeah’s” to maintain the impression he was at least vaguely listening when in fact his concentration was entirely elsewhere.  
  
At the other end of the library Hillary’s eyes scanned the same page of her book for the fifth time that evening, reaching the end of the section only to realize yet again that her brain hadn’t absorbed a single word. She glanced up again and her lips curled into a small smile. He was still staring. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her feel like the only person in the room, fanning the flames of intrigue that had been burning inside of her since the very first day she had overheard him speaking by the student vending machines.  
  
_“-and not only that, we grow the biggest watermelons in the world!”_  
  
Bill Clinton, her friend had informed her at the time, made no secret of his love for his home state, and she couldn’t deny there was something incredibly contagious about the passion in his voice as he spoke about it. She had never met anyone from Arkansas before, and she had certainly never met anyone who spoke the way he did before, with his natural ability to hold the attention of a room no matter what he was talking about.  
  
Hillary had stolen several glances at him in the days that followed, a flutter rippling through her body each time she overheard that raspy southern drawl or caught a glimpse of his reddish brown mass of hair and that unmistakable viking beard among the sea of students. So far, neither had caught the other looking.  
  
Until now.  
  
“-and it would near enough it assure you a good clerkship with a federal judge or a job with one of the blue-chip law fir-… Bill? Bill are you even listening?”  
  
“Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah that’s great Jeff it sounds…great.” He managed to maintain eye contact with the guy for less than thirty seconds before his attention inevitably wandered again. Hillary was still looking at him, apparently amused that he had been caught not listening to his friend on account of her distraction. She licked her lips and bit down on them and Bill felt his throat run dry as he stared.  
  
Suddenly deciding enough was enough, Hillary impulsively got to her feet and began walking the length of the law library towards him. Her heart was pounding in her chest but the confidence in her stride conveyed none of the butterflies she was feeling as she slowly grew closer to him and eventually reached where he was standing.

They looked each other directly in the eyes for the very first time; sparkling bright blue meeting shining soft blue like two ocean waves crashing against each other along the golden shore.  
  
“If you’re gonna keep looking at me and I’m gonna keep looking at you, we at least ought to know each other’s names,” her clear toned assured voice hit every nerve inside him all at once and he was stunned as she stuck out her hand to him, “I’m Hillary Rodham.”  
  
_Hillary Rodham_.  
  
_God it sounded even more beautiful when she said it,_ Bill thought to himself as he blinked at her. It took him several seconds to realize she was waiting for him to respond with his own name and he quickly cleared his throat. _His name…shit, what was his name?_  
  
“B-Bill, Bill Clinton.” He made a quick recovery as he remembered himself and successfully managed to locate his voice.

As he took her hand Hillary felt the blush rise to her cheeks at the connection, feeling the smoothness of his palm against hers and she couldn’t help noticing how perfectly her smaller hand fit inside of his.  
  
Jeff Gleckel, still standing beside Bill and now feeling considerably ignored, watched as the two of them gazed and smiled at each other and he awkwardly cleared his throat to remind them he was there, breaking them out of their reverie as they finally let go of each others hands.  
  
Hillary smiled at Jeff with a quick nod, acknowledging his presence before turning back to Bill, “Well I guess I’ll see you around then, Bill Clinton.”  
  
He watched her go as she turned around and collected her books before heading out of the library, hips swaying in her jeans and long thick hair tumbling around her shoulders with each step she took. As soon as she stepped through the door and was out of sight Bill silently cursed himself for not saying more. Finding himself tongue tied was a completely new experience to him, and now he was more determined than ever that he had to see her again and talk to her. Properly this time.  
  
There was something about this girl that had drawn him in, something different to anything he had ever experienced before and from the glimmer in her eyes when they shook hands he was sure she had felt it too.  
  
But he knew next to nothing about her, a fact he was now on a mission to do something about.  
  
One way or another, he was going to carry on that conversation with Hillary Rodham.


	3. Rothko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much everyone who has commented and read so far <3 <3

“Bill what are you doing here you registered this morning?”  
  
Hillary glanced over at him standing there beside her in line and she threw her head back laughing her signature big laugh as Bill turned an impressive shade of red, having only just told her that he needed to register for his classes too after she’d said that was where she was heading.  
  
“Oh I-uh- I,” Bill stammered over his words knowing his cover was well and truly blown, but from the way Hillary was grinning and sizing him up she didn’t seem to mind the revelation of his ulterior motives.  
  
The registrar eyed them both curiously, Bill still struggling to make his excuses and get the rest of his sentence out and Hillary beside herself with giggles until she finally came to his rescue.  
  
“He’s with me,” Hillary stepped a little closer to him and for a moment Bill got a sense that she wanted to slip her hand into his but thought better of it.  
  
_With me,_ Bill thought to himself as he watched her carefully fill out the rest of her forms, _he liked the sound of that._

 

* * *

 

“So, what do you wanna do now?” Bill asked when they finally made it back out of the hall after escaping the mile long line which was still halfway out the door.  
  
“Well,” Hillary licked her lips again as she thought, a habit that was fast becoming a favorite of Bill’s as he felt a flutter surge through his body, “I have to go get my mail…but after that I’m free all night.”  
  
Bill didn’t miss her flirty smirk on those last few words despite her seemingly innocent tone, and he swallowed hard before returning her grin.  
  
“In that case, I know just the place we can go Miss Rodham.”  
  
After a brief detour to collect her mail and stuff it into the seemingly endless capacity of her shoulder bag, Bill excitedly led the way to the Yale Art Gallery as they chatted about everything and nothing all at once. Bill learned that Hillary was from Chicago and had spent four years at Wellesley College before starting at Yale, and Hillary learned that Bill was a Rhodes Scholar who had spent the previous year in Oxford. They discovered they shared the same favorite diner to eat at; Bill professing that they served the best peach pie he had tasted outside of Arkansas and Hillary promising to try it the next time she was there on one of her regular iced tea stops. They laughed about things that had happened in classes they shared and the conversation slowly turned to their course content and the reason they were both there studying in the first place. Anyone who passed them on that walk would have assumed they were two people who had known each other for years from the way they engaged with each other, the conversation flowing so seamlessly as they shared thoughts and ideas, each matching the other’s passion and intelligence in a way neither had really experienced before and neither wanted to ever come to an end.  
  
They were so lost in deep discussion that they almost missed their turning from the path into the art gallery. Bill leapt to the side suddenly, eliciting a giggle from Hillary and he gestured his hand in the direction he had almost forgotten they were going in.

Several moments later they finally arrived at the entrance to the gallery, which quickly became something of an anticlimax and Bill’s face fell as he remembered the university work force was on strike and the museum was closed.  
  
“Damn it, I totally forgot!”  
  
Hillary could feel his almost tangible disappointment as he stared at the closure sign in despair and she stepped closer and slipped her arm through his.  
  
“Hey it’s fine, we can go another day! Why don’t we just keep on walking?” She started to lead the way back down the path again when out of the corner of Bill's eye he spotted a security guard and an idea flashed into his ever resourceful mind.  
  
“Give me two seconds.” He assured her before dashing off in the direction of the security guard. Hillary watched curiously from a distance as they had a brief exchange, unable to hear what they were saying but for the very first time witnessing the effectiveness of his persuasive charm at work. She had no idea what he had said to the guy, but a few moments later he was striding back towards her with a triumphant ear to ear smile that was a testament to his success. They were in.  
  
The security guard unlocked a side door and the two of them slipped into the impressive building, their footsteps echoing in the vast expanse of the empty exhibit as they looked around in awe.  
  
“Wow,” Hillary’s voice carried throughout the room as she tilted her head up towards the architecture along the high ceiling, “It’s so beautiful in here.”  
  
Bill nodded, his heart skipping inside his chest like he was in high school again as he watched her twirling on the heel of her boots and taking it all in. They slowly made their way through the exhibit together, admiring and discussing each one that struck a chord in them and giggling over the ones they didn’t quite know what to make of, their running commentary of suggested hidden meanings becoming increasingly ridiculous as the day wore on.       
  
The minutes seemed to fly by faster than ever in their newly discovered thrill of each others company, and before they knew it they had reached the end of the exhibit and were at the door which led out to the exit through the gardens.  
  
The fresh air hit them as they stepped out into the cooling late afternoon breeze together, breathing in with a content sigh as they wandered through the grass and admired the statues that were positioned along the way out.  
  
“I’ve gotta just, uh, pick up some trash first,” Bill flashed a sheepish apologetic grin with his hand on the back of his neck just before they reached the exit, “Terms and conditions of us getting in here y’know.”  
  
Hillary laughed with a nod, “Fair enough.” She threw her bag down into a corner with a thud and much to Bill’s surprise she started picking up sticks and litter in the garden.  
  
“Oh- I didn’t mean you had to do it too! I mean I was the one who agreed, it’s fine-"  
  
Hillary barely batted an eye at his protesting, glancing back at him over her shoulder with a grin, “Yeah right, like I’m gonna just sit there and watch you do this by yourself.”  
  
Bill stared at her for a moment, stunned by everything about her from her smile to her kindness to the way she looked at things and his words got lost in his throat until her sunny voice cut through the silence again.  
  
“Besides, it’ll be quicker with two. Hurry up though I’ve almost finished this side already!”  
  
Bill snapped into action and collected the trash on his side of the garden at lightning speed, stealing one or two glances over at her when he thought she wasn’t looking as she bent down to pick up the last of the sticks.  
  
Hillary noticed him stealing a glance out of the corner of her eye and bit down on her lower lip, tingles spreading through her body in a rush of heat which she hoped wasn’t showing on her cheeks as she felt his eyes on her. Once he was facing the opposite direction her own gaze skimmed his stature up and down in return. His upper body and broad shoulders were mostly swamped beneath a large tan brown jacket, but she couldn’t help noticing the tightness of his jeans, her gaze lingering as he reached around the side of a sculpture to retrieve some discarded soda cans…  
  
Feeling herself getting distracted Hillary quickly turned her attention back to the task at hand before her thoughts could wander too far.  
  
It wasn’t long before between them they had successfully cleaned the area and Hillary hoisted herself up onto the lap of a bronze sculpture carved into the shape of a seated woman to admire the garden in its newly tidied state. Bill bit back a smile, amused by the uniqueness of her choice in seat as he climbed up onto the sculpture beside her, inching closer little by little as they watched the sun begin to go down until finally, with bated breath, he worked up the courage to rest his head gently on her shoulder.  
  
His mass of thick hair tickled against the sensitive skin of her neck and the warmth of his body resting against hers was more comforting than she could ever have imagined. Before long, Hillary reached across and interlaced their fingers as they held hands for the very first time, feeling the spark of that connection igniting them both in a way that was exhilarating and slightly overwhelming all at the same time.  
  
When the evening started drawing in Bill finally walked Hillary back to her dorm, the sky turning from blue to pink around them as the sun finished setting and with each step they brushed slightly closer against each other. Still talking and laughing, they only reluctantly drifted apart once they reached Hillary’s front door, the first awkward silence settling around them since they had first introduced each other.  
  
“So…”  
  
“So…”    
  
They both stared at each other as they stood in the doorway, neither quite sure what to say before they parted company and Hillary twirled her keys in her hands.  
  
“We should do this again some time.” Bill finally said, unable to wipe the smile from his face and she raised her eyebrow up at him.  
  
“Break a strike together?” She laughed and he instantly joined in, quickly finding there was something incredibly infectious about her sense of humor.  
  
“Spend time together I mean.” Bill clarified, and Hillary scrunched her face into a sarcastic look through her laughter telling him she obviously knew what he’d meant.  
  
“I’d like that.”  
  
Their laughter subsiding, the two slowly found themselves gravitating slightly closer together again, the air between them feeling like it was electrically charged with the nervous energy and almost tangible attraction between them. Bill’s gaze flitted between the blue of her eyes and the pink of her lips, inching closer towards her until all at once they connected, his lips against hers and Hillary closed her eyes and sighed softly and blissfully against his mouth.  
  
It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was a kiss that seared something into both of their hearts and they smiled slightly breathless and giddy as they pulled away from each other. After exchanging goodbyes, Bill slowly started to walk away back down the hallway and Hillary turned around and slotted her key into the door when a thought suddenly struck her.  
  
“Hey!” She ran back out into the hallway and called after him and he spun back around to face her from the other end of the walkway. “Me and my roommate are having a party tonight to celebrate the end of classes. 9 o’clock onward. Wanna come?”  
  
Bill’s face lit up all over again and he nodded his reply back across to her in his smooth southern drawl. “I’ll be there.”

 

* * *

 

Half an hour later, Bill sauntered back into the beach house he shared with three of his closest friends feeling like he had just found a winning lottery ticket down the back of the couch. Apparently he must have looked as elated as he felt, because his roommate Doug quickly abandoned the book he was studying and eyed him suspiciously as he entered the kitchen with a spring in his step which usually only meant one thing.

"What are you looking so happy about?”  
  
“Nothin,” Bill grinned back, grabbing an apple from the side board before throwing it up into the air and catching it. “Just a good afternoon.”  
  
“A good afternoon with….?”  
  
Bill shook his head and remained tight lipped, still unable to wipe the smile off his face and rather enjoying the air of mystery. He supposed he _could_ tell Doug who he was with; he trusted him after all and if things continued progressing as he hoped they would then his closest friends were bound to find out sooner or later. But he decided there was something special about keeping this, whatever this was, just between the two of them for the time being at least.  
  
_Or so he thought._  
  
“Not Hillary Rodham?” Doug raised an eyebrow in question and Bill’s face instantly revealed everything he suspected as soon as he voiced her name. “Jeff told me you were talking to her before. He seemed kinda pissed about it actually, apparently you were ignoring him.”  
  
Bill rolled his eyes with a chuckle, “I’ll make it up to Jeff. I’ve got some notes to give to him from the days he swerved class last week anyway.”  
  
Doug nodded back, still maintaining an unusually grave expression as he kept his eyes trained on Bill until he started to feel a little bit unsettled.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Nothing. Just…you do realize she has a boyfriend right?” 


	4. Observations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally meant to post this yesterday but I fell asleep before I got the chance to proof read it, but I am trying to keep this updated as regularly as I can and thank you so much for reading/commenting!! <3

Bill paced the hallway outside Hillary’s dorm where they had kissed only hours before, now dressed in a different shirt having gone home and showered and inadvertently learned the crucial piece of information which had turned his entire blissful day upside-down.  
  
_A boyfriend._  
  
He couldn’t seem to stop the word from spinning through his mind and tearing it any and all sky high hopes he’d held earlier in the day.  
  
_Maybe he’d got it wrong, misread what he thought they had shared together?_  
  
It certainly hadn’t felt like he had.  
  
_Maybe Doug was just mistaken, he might have been thinking of someone else?_  
  
Doubtful, he knew Doug wasn’t the sort of guy to latch onto rumors for no reason. Or to idly spread them for that matter.  
  
As Bill continued his internal debate with himself he heard the music spilling out into the corridor as various students entered the dorm to join the party. Following a few curious glances in his direction for loitering outside he finally decided he’d better get a grip and go in already before he drew any further attention to himself.  
  
_“Bill!”_  
  
A group of friends he frequently sat with during Ethics in Law and Markets lectures loudly greeted him with wide smiles and a slap on the shoulder as he stepped inside and Bill quickly found himself wrapped up in conversation with them as somebody passed around bottles of beer.  
  
As they continued to talk Bill’s attention started to wander from the conversation and his eyes scanned the room for the one person he was really there to see. The effect of the alcohol slowly calmed his initial nerves and Bill gradually slipped away from the group, exchanging a few words with a couple of other people he knew along the way. He moved from room to room, squeezing through hordes of loud students until finally, passing by the doorway of the kitchen he caught a glimpse of the person he was looking for.  
  
Bill’s heart started to beat faster in his chest as he followed a little way behind her. Despite his conflicting feelings on what he had been told about her earlier he still couldn’t help lighting up inside the very second he caught sight of Hillary Rodham again.

She had changed out of the outfit she’d worn earlier that afternoon in the gallery and was now wearing a pair of white shorts and a little tank top which hugged her softly curved figure in a way that caused Bill’s blood to rush south in his body as he looked her up and down from a short distance away. She had swept her hair to one side, and her face was still mostly makeup free as far as he could tell with the exception of her lips. They were pinker and glossier than before and made her teeth look an even brighter sparkling white as she laughed at something a friend had just whispered to her with a grin.  
  
She hadn’t noticed him yet, a fact he was blessedly grateful for as he rapidly backed away from the doorway and found something to stand in front of while he tried to calm his body's visible response to her.  
  
For all the thousands of questions swirling through his head he seemed to have completely lost his nerve to talk to her, and so instead he did the next best thing which he decided was to talk to her friends. Maybe they could shed some light on the situation without him having to put his foot right in some awkward line of questioning about her relationship status to her face.  
  
Bill hung back until he saw Hillary leave the living room on her way back to the kitchen. Carefully slipping back into the main room, he slowly approached the friend he had seen Hillary whispering with earlier. A slightly taller girl dressed in a brightly patterned dress now sorting through a pile of cassette tapes. Bill reached into the far depths of his impressive memory and thankfully managed to recall her name from several overheard conversations and brief exchanges in the student lounge.  
  
“Kwan Kwan right?” He caught her attention and grinned at her with his usual charismatic smile. She glanced him up and down for a moment, trying to work out who he was and what he was doing in her living room until a look of realization dawned across her face.  
  
“Bill, yeah?” He nodded and they sized each other up for a further few seconds. “Hillary told me she invited you.”  
  
“Did she?” Bill tried his best not to make his enthusiasm for that fact too obvious, although he wasn’t altogether sure he entirely succeeded.    
  
“Yup,” she nodded, her head still in the cassette collection, “She’s in the kitchen if you were looking for her. Hey could you hold onto that one for a second?”  
  
She thrust a tape into his hands as she shuffled the rest of the pile back onto the shelf. Bill glanced down at it quickly before launching into his thoughts on the band and Kwan Kwan couldn’t help feeling quite impressed by the way he spoke so effortlessly and knowledgeably about the given subject at the drop of a hat. She quickly saw exactly what Hillary had been so taken in by.  
  
“So…is, uh, is Hillary’s boyfriend here?” As their music conversation reached its natural end Bill finally plucked up the courage to dare to ask what had really been burning on his tongue since the moment he had arrived. He waited for her answer with bated breath and hoped the question had come across distinctly more casual than he currently felt.  
  
“Who, David?” The girl pulled a face and Bill made a mental note of her apparently less than favorable reaction to the guy. “Nope, he’s in Vermont. Think she’s driving up to see him this weekend. So what do you think of this one then?”  
  
She handed him another tape and Bill slowly read the listing on the back with a nod, but his attention was now considerably elsewhere.  
  
“She drives up there a lot does she?”  
  
The girl shrugged as she neatly slotted the cassette back into its place on the shelf. “Sometimes. Not so much lately. Honestly I don’t really know what’s going on with them anymore.” She rolled her eyes and Bill concluded that he had probably reached the limit of how much she was willing to divulge on the subject. He quickly changed tact.  
  
“So how long you guys been living here then?”  
  
“Oh since the start of the fall semester,” She sat back on the couch beside the radio, frowning before reaching behind her and pulling out a half crushed beer can which had been wedged between the cushions. Bill offered to take the can from her and he glanced around for a trash can.  
  
“Interesting wallpaper.” He commented with a nod at their flowery yellow surroundings and she let out a knowing chuckle.  
  
“Awful isn’t it?” She grinned before rolling her eyes and adding, “Hillary loves it, for some inexplicable reason. It was one of the first things that made her want to move into this place.”  
  
Bill glanced up at the swirling floral patterns a second time and found there was something strangely warming about the slightly too bright yellow. “You know what I think I kinda like it too.”  
  
Kwan Kwan rolled her eyes again with a laugh and the two continued exchanging small talk with a couple more people who had piled onto the couch to join them before Bill excused himself to go find somewhere to discard the crushed can and his now empty beer bottle.  
  
After locating a plastic bag already half filled with trash and tied to a door handle his eyes scanned the room again as he worked his way through the crowds of students, desperately trying to seek out Hillary without making it too obvious. He finally made it out of the packed living room and suddenly he heard the most unmistakably loud laughter coming from the next room. Bill quickly spun around and headed in the direction of the sound he already knew so well until finally; he found her.  
  
Hillary was sat mixing drinks on the other side of the kitchen bar, a bottle of vodka in one hand which she poured little by little into glasses her friend had filled three quarters of the way up with lemonade or orange juice all lined up in a row. There was a tub of bright maraschino cherries on the other side of the countertop, and between taking sips of her own drink Hillary placed a single one of the jewel toned fruits into each orange drink, along with another splash of alcohol in what he assumed was her attempt at creating some kind of cocktail. Apparently it hadn’t tasted the way she had anticipated, because after trying out the drink Hillary scrunched her face into a frown and then burst out laughing as soon as she and her friend exchanged glances after doing the same. Bill found himself smiling without even realizing it as he watched her; pink cheeks flushed from the buzz of the alcohol and her long hair falling loose around her shoulders as she threw her head back laughing.  
  
Bill couldn’t quite manage to tear his gaze away as the two friends continued tasting the drinks, and he watched mesmerized as Hillary slipped one of the maraschino cherries into her mouth, leaving a slight sparkling sheen of the sticky glaze on her lips before she licked it away and he felt his throat run dry as he stared, totally captivated by her.  
  
“Hey do you know where the bathroom is?”  
  
Suddenly and much to his annoyance Bill was interrupted out of his blissful longing by a student he vaguely recognized and a question he didn’t even know the answer to. He looked around and shrugged, as though he was half expecting a bathroom to materialize out of thin air in front of them and he mumbled his apologies as the guy moved past him and tried several doors down the hallway until he eventually found the right one.  
  
As Bill turned his attention back to Hillary he realized the volume of his exchange must have been louder than he thought. With his cover blown he found her staring right back at him this time and they locked eyes from across the room. _This was beginning to become quite a habit for them._  
  
He smiled sheepishly, hoping she hadn’t realized how long he’d been watching her and Hillary smiled back although she looked a little confused. All night she had been expecting him to come and talk to her so they could spend more time together, and she couldn’t figure out what had caused the change from the Bill Clinton she had spent the afternoon talking so easily with to the Bill Clinton of this evening who didn’t even seem to want to talk to her at all.  
  
Never one to tiptoe lightly around a subject, Hillary was just about to march right over and confront him when a girl with curly red hair called her name from the other side of the kitchen and momentarily diverted her attention with an enthusiastic wave and a hug. Hillary greeted her friend and glanced over the girls shoulder as they embraced just in time to see Bill dashing away in the opposite direction.  
  
_Like he’s trying to avoid me…_ Hillary thought to herself, feeling distinctly hurt at the possibility.  
  
She tried her best to shake herself out of her disappointment and enjoy the rest of the party. She reasoned with herself that it wasn’t like they really knew each other all that well, but despite that she had felt so sure they had connected in a way that meant something. Now it was like they were right back to being strangers all over again.  
  
As the hours passed by Hillary caught several more glimpses of Bill talking to people she knew, but more often than not he seemed to just be hanging around quietly in the background.    
  
_Strange,_ she wondered as she watched from a distance, as though he was a puzzle piece she just couldn’t quite figure out where to fit. _He never seemed like the reserved type before._  
  
The night wore and as the party eventually drew to a close it became increasingly clear that they weren’t going to speak to each other. Hillary got through several more of her makeshift cocktails and was more than a little tipsy by the time Bill left with a wave and a brief word of thanks and then he was gone. She sat back on the couch as the rest of the guests slowly filtered out around her and she leaned her chin on her hands and kicked off her heels in disappointment.  
  
_Maybe we just aren’t as compatible as I first thought._


	5. Chicken Soup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _“When I came back to Yale late Sunday, Bill called and heard me coughing and hacking from the bad cold I had picked up. About thirty minutes later, he knocked on my door, bearing chicken soup and orange juice.” - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History_

“If you wear a hole in that carpet you’re paying for the next one.”  
  
Doug glanced up at Bill exasperated as he and Don sat in the living room, but the remark barely raised a smile out of their restless roommate as he continued to pace the floor anxiously.

“Bill!” Don finally snapped his book shut as another minute passed and he glared at him, “Relax. Jesus, why are you so hung up on this girl anyway?”

Bill huffed in irritation but conceded to stop pacing at least and flopped into the remaining empty armchair shaking his head.

“You’ll get it when you meet her okay, trust me. I don’t wanna lose her…”

“So does that mean you’ve had her then?” Don asked with a smirk but to his disappointment Bill didn’t even seem to acknowledge the obvious innuendo as his attention remained a million miles away. _Well, a hundred and fifty miles away, to be exact._

He glanced at his watch again and checked it against the clock on the wall. 9.08pm. Following his befriending of Hillary’s roommate at the party Bill had learned that Hillary was due back on campus around 9.30pm that evening. He tapped his long fingers against the arm of his chair as the minutes seemed to tick by even slower. Doug and Don exchanged weary looks from across the room as Bill’s tapping became increasingly grating and eventually Don threw his book down for the second time that evening and jumped to his feet.

“Right! That is _it_ , none of us are getting anything done with you like this. I’m going out for a drink, coming?” He looked to Doug who nodded, balancing his own books and papers on the side table and heading for the door as they grabbed their jackets and keys.  
  
Bill vaguely acknowledged their leaving with a somewhat confused nod, and as the door slammed shut behind them he was left alone with his own thoughts in silence as he watched the next twenty minutes drag by.  
  
Finally, the clock struck 9.30pm. He had a brief internal wrestle with himself about what the most appropriate time to actually call her was, not wanting to appear too overly keen and bombarding her the second she walked through the door as though he’d been waiting obsessively all day. Although he had.

He eventually picked up the phone just before twenty to ten and felt his heart racing hard in his chest as he listened to the dial tone and silently prayed she would pick up.

_First ring…_  
  
_Second ring..._  
  
_Third rin-_

“H-ello?” With a steady click the line finally connected and a very small croaky voice sounded on the other end before tailing off into a mini chorus of coughing.

“Hillary?” Bill found his nerves were quickly replaced by concern and he sat up straight in his chair with worry.

“Yeah? Sorry who’s this?”

He couldn’t help feeling a little crestfallen by that question, hoping she would have recognized his voice. “It’s Bill. Bill Clinton. Are you okay, you sound terrible?”

Bill could almost sense the faint smile on her lips as she realized who it was and although it was hard to tell over the phone he got the distinct impression she was just as pleased to talk to him as he was to talk to her.  
  
“Gee thanks.” Hillary mumbled between a chuckle which rapidly turned into another hacking cough and Bill felt slightly alarmed, quickly concluding he would have to postpone all his initial questions for the moment.

“Do you need anything, is Kwan Kwan there with you?”

Hillary wondered for a moment how he knew her roommate’s name, realizing they must have spoken at the party and finding there was something strangely comforting about his concern and awareness of the people around her. Almost as though he had slotted himself into her world and fitted so easily it already felt as though he had been there all along.

“She’s gone out. But I’m fine, really it’s just a cold.” No sooner had those words left her lips Hillary started coughing again, this time much worse than before and Bill jumped to his feet as an idea sprang to mind.

“I know just what you need! Can…can I come over?”

Hillary was slightly taken aback by the offer, but before her brain even had its usual chance to kick in and carefully analyze the situation she already found herself easily nodding her answer. “Sure.”

“Great!” Bill clicked the phone down with a grin and rushed to the kitchen to track down what he was looking for, racing in such a whirlwind hurry that he knocked several of Doug’s papers flying to the floor along the way.

On her end of the line Hillary replaced the phone to the handset and sat back in surprise at herself. She never particularly liked seeing anyone when she was sick, least of all somebody she was attracted to who she was pretty certain felt the same way about her. But she was quickly learning that Bill Clinton seemed to have a knack for turning her world on its head and spinning her around along with it. He was undoubtedly a force of nature, that much she could tell from the start, and the way he made her feel was exhilarating and slightly overwhelming in a way she was sure she had never experienced in anyone before.  
  
Dragging herself back up from the sofa where she had curled up in an exhausted heap as soon as she’d arrived back home, Hillary quickly ventured into the bathroom in an effort to make herself look at least somewhat presentable. She’d already half undressed when she had found nobody else was in, and tempting though it was to answer the door to him wearing just her sweater and panties she regretfully realized that her stuffy nose and feverish skin might not quite be best paired with how she would have liked to portray that particular image.

Fishing through one of the many piles of clothes heaped around her floor, Hillary pulled out a pair of cotton shorts which she often wore to bed in the summer before returning to the sink and splashing her face with cold water. She reached for a small clear bottle on the top shelf of the bathroom cabinet with the words _‘pretty peach’_ spelled out in curly white lettering, spritzing herself with the sweet scent then nervously doing her best to fix her hair which was currently piled up on the top of her head and sticking out in curious different directions.

Thirty minutes later the doorbell rang. Hillary rushed to answer it in a slightly breathless flurry, clearing her stinging throat one last time before swinging the door open to reveal Bill Clinton standing there armed with a plastic Tupperware filled with soup and the largest bottle of orange juice she’d ever seen.  
  
“Hi,” Bill smiled at her so warmly she felt her entire body temperature rise even higher than it already was as she smiled back. “I’ve brought the best cure for a cold you’ll find outside of a pharmacist.”    
  
“Is that so?” Hillary raised her eyebrow with a chuckle before stepping aside and letting him into the room. She watched as he dumped everything he was carrying onto the countertop and appeared to make himself at home.  
  
“Okay if I heat this up?” Bill tapped the top of the Tupperware and glanced around for a saucepan, completely unfazed by her unwell state and she found her lingering self-consciousness about the situation slowly slipping away.  
  
“Well I’m sure it’ll taste much nicer that way.” Her lips curled into a small smile as they both grinned at her sarcasm.

He continued to make his way around her kitchen until he found all the utensils he was looking for, and soon the comforting smell of warming chicken soup filled the room. Hillary felt her appetite returning for the first time since she’d caught this wretched cold.  
  
She sat back down on the couch again, letting her eyes drift closed every now and then once she felt confident enough that this young man from Arkansas wasn’t about to inadvertently burn down her kitchen. Bill stirred the soup diligently and watched over her, noticing her glasses slowly slipping down her nose as she snuggled into her cushion and thinking privately to himself that it was the most adorable sight he’d ever seen.

His attention also occasionally wandered over to what he assumed was her overnight bag, still waiting to be unpacked in the hallway where she had dumped it earlier and he couldn’t help the jealousy rising up inside him the more he thought about it. He was positively burning with curiosity to ask her about her weekend, about David, _the boyfriend_ , but his instinctual desire to look after her had forced any other line of questioning to take a back seat, and the intermittent outbursts of coughing coming from her direction reminded him he couldn’t very well start interrogating her in this state.  
  
So Bill held his tongue and concentrated on the soup, swirling the wooden spoon as the steam rose from the pan and almost completely lost in his own thoughts until a slightly croaky voice snapped him out of them again.  
  
“I don’t get you, Clinton.”  
  
Bill spun around in surprise to find Hillary had apparently woken up a little and was now watching him closely with bright eyes and folded arms from her spot on the couch.  
  
“S-sorry?” Bill was so caught of guard by her directness and the slightly unnerving way she was staring at him from the other side of those big glasses that he almost dropped his spoon. He felt as though she could almost read his every thought as she sized him up and down before finally elaborating.  
  
“First you kiss me, then you ignore me at my own party and leave without so much as talking to me. Kwan Kwan told me you’ve been distracted and snapping at people all weekend and now you’re round here bringing me chicken soup while I’m in my pajamas?”  
  
“I…I didn’t wanna ignore you…” Bill’s focus shifted to the floor guiltily, amazed and enthralled at how she still managed to have the upper hand and air of authority even while sitting crossed legged and wrapped in blankets with the end of her nose slightly pink.  
  
He quickly busied himself with the soup to avoid the question, carefully ladling some into a cereal bowl and grabbing a spoon from the drawer but he could feel her eyes following him every step of the way until he gingerly sat down on the couch beside her.  
  
“So why did you then?”  
  
Bill shrugged, not quite making eye contact as she stared him down, sensing there was more he wasn’t saying.  
  
“It doesn’t matter right now.”  
  
“Says who?” Hillary persisted, not willing to let the subject drop that easily. “You’ve been distracted ever since you got here so there’s obviously something.”  
  
“Well, it’s just…"  
  
“Just what?”  
  
“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, that’s what!” Bill finally blurted it out all at once and Hillary shrank back in her seat, swallowing back all the quick witted arguments she had been about to make and shifting uncomfortably against her cushion.  
  
“Oh…”  
  
“And it’s fine,” Bill hastily continued, mistaking her silence for pity and desperately trying to talk his way out of the awkwardness, “It’s not like it’s really any of my business anyway. I just assumed when we…you know after the art gallery and then…" His voice trailed off as he tried to think of the most tactful way to word what he wanted to say. “It just screwed with my head a bit y’know?”    
  
Bill placed the bowl on the side table and made his move to leave when Hillary reached out and stopped him.  
  
“Hey-” He turned reluctantly back around to face her as he felt her small hand grip his upper arm. “I wasn’t messing you around. I swear. Listen…David and me, we- well, we agreed to start seeing other people. Truth be told we’ve been drifting apart for months, and I guess we were both just stalling making things final and ending it for good. That’s what this weekend was about.”  
  
She nodded over towards her overnight bag and Bill shifted his feet on the floor as understanding dawned on him, unsure of whether he felt more relieved or more guilty for having assumed the worst.  
  
“I see…”  
  
A slightly uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

“Is that really what you think I’m like then?”  
  
“No! No of course not, shit I’m sorry Hillary I never meant to jump to conclusions I just- I didn’t know what to think.”  
  
Another moment passed as Hillary processed his explanation and he added his apology again.  
  
“I’m sorry.” He reached across the bed and slipped his hand into hers and she eventually smiled back at him, silently thankful she was holding her used tissue in her other hand and stifling back a giggle at that thought crossing her mind.

“It’s okay.”

Hillary noticed he was softly stroking his thumb against the back of her hand and she felt her heart flutter at the contact.

“So that’s why you were avoiding me at the party?”

Guilt crossed Bill’s face again as her sparkling gaze cut through him. Although her tone had switched from confrontational to curiosity he stilled his hand movement for a moment while he thought back and she instantly found herself missing the comfort it brought.

“Kinda. I don’t know, I… I couldn’t work you out I guess.” Hillary nodded as he continued, “And I just wanted to learn more about you and your friends because- because I really like you Hillary.”

Hillary felt her heart skip a beat at the way he said her name, his southern accent almost completely gliding over the letter ‘a’ and merging the rest smoothly together and she was sure she had never liked the sound of her own name more.  
  
“I really like you too, Bill.”  
  
She squeezed his hand back and he gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. They were both caught up in each others eyes until the moment was broken by Hillary reaching for her tissue and sneezing, and they both promptly burst out laughing which only led Hillary into another extended coughing fit.  
  
“C’mon let’s get some of this soup inside you.” Bill reached for the bowl again once Hillary had caught her breath, and she couldn’t help wondering if that choice of phrase had been deliberate as she felt a tingle rush through her body. He dipped the spoon into the golden broth and brought it to her lips, laughing at the pouting face she pulled at him actually feeding her but for some reason finding herself allowing him to continue all the same.  
  
“You’re very good at looking after people.” Hillary commented after a few spoonfuls of soup, finally taking hold of the bowl and spoon for herself and watching as he carefully prepared a damp washcloth for her forehead to regulate her body temperature.

"Thank you." He grinned. As he passed her the washcloth he explained that his mother was a nurse and Hillary found herself sitting upright again listening with interest. They slowly picked up right where they had left off after their date at the art gallery and they talked and learned more about each other as the hours melted away around them. Hillary slowly finished the chicken soup and Bill eventually left her to sleep with a tall glass of water and another filled with orange juice by her bedside and he let himself out, heading back home with a spring in his step and a beaming smile he was sure nothing could ever wipe away again. 

> _“From then on we were inseparable.” - Bill Clinton, My Life_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any feedback or comments are always always very much appreciated and thank you for reading!! <3


	6. Distraction

> _"One of the first things I noticed about Bill Clinton was the shape of his hands. His wrists are narrow and his long fingers deft, like those of a pianist or a surgeon. When we first met in law school, I loved just watching him turn the pages of a book." - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History_

Before long Bill and Hillary found themselves wanting to spend any and every moment of time together that they could. From debating any topic under the sun to socializing and studying, they kept on seeking out each other’s company at any hour of the day or night and seamlessly picked up their conversations from wherever they had left off before and basked in the glow of what they had found in each other.  
  
One particular afternoon, Hillary was curled up with her books in the library when Bill suddenly thumped down into the seat beside her with a bunch of lecture notes, a pen and a casual grin which set him aside from the rest of their fellow classmates who were all feeling the pressure of a looming corporate law paper deadline; one that nobody felt particularly prepared for and had quickly transformed the library into a stress fueled cramming zone filled with exasperated sighs and turning pages.  
  
“Hey Hillary,” Bill beamed, still relishing any opportunity to say her name and feeling more and more certain each time that it was the most beautiful sounding word in the world.  
  
She glanced up at him from behind her glasses and surveyed his carefree expression curiously. “Why are you in such a good mood? Don’t tell me you’re done already!”  
  
“Nope, actually I’m only just starting now.”  
  
Her eyes widened in horror and Bill let out a chuckle at her mortified reaction as he flipped open his book.  
  
“Don’t worry about me darlin’ I’ve got it all under control. I usually finish pretty fast.”  
  
Hillary’s dismay was quickly replaced by a wicked grin at that remark and she raised her eyebrows at him.  
  
“Do you now?”  
  
Her suggestive tone of voice definitely didn’t go unnoticed, and their eyes met across their pile of papers as Bill turned bright red and Hillary let out a ripple of laughter before promptly being shushed by another stressed out student.  
  
“Well that’s interesting to know, y’know, for future reference.” She whispered with a glittering mischievous look in her eyes before quickly sticking her head back down into her book before he could fire back a smart response of his own.  
  
The tension lingered thick in the air around them as they continued studying in silence, both now struggling to keep their thoughts from wandering. Bill picked up his pen and tried to pull his focus together, scanning over the first page of his notes before finally starting to write.  
  
Miraculously, with the imminent deadline looming Bill managed to immerse himself in his work fairly quickly, but Hillary was having significantly more difficulty concentrating. She finished the paragraph she had been in the middle of writing before he arrived and then chewed on the end of her pen as she drew blank on her next train of thought. Bill glanced up for a moment, catching sight of her with her naturally rose pink lips around her pen lid and he quickly returned his attention back down just as Hillary sensed his eyes on her. She smirked as she noticed him shifting in his seat a little, still somehow writing seamlessly and as she watched the way his hands gripped the pen as the sweep of his handwriting slowly covered the page Hillary felt the heat rising in her body.  
  
Her own paper fell to the back of her mind and she swallowed hard, staring at the smooth fluid movement of his hands as he searched for a quote in the book he was referring back to. She was sure he had the longest most elegant fingers she had ever seen in her life as she watched each deft deliberate movement he made. Recent memories flooded her head of his hands around her waist, her body wrapped in his strong grip or his fingertips threading through her long soft hair and brushing the loose strands gently behind her ear. He had held her small hand in his large one more times than she could count already in the weeks they had been together, walking side by side and swinging their entwined fingers between them, relaxed in the safety and comfort they felt with each other.  
  
Now, as Bill used two fingers to leaf through his papers, Hillary couldn’t seem to help herself from wondering about where else his hands might be even more pleasurable.  
  
Squeezing her thighs together Hillary felt a familiar warmth in her underwear as a result of where her thoughts were at. She let out a breath, clearing the dryness in her throat and suddenly rising from her seat a little more quickly than she’d intended to.  
  
“Bill can I speak to you outside for a minute.”  
  
She didn’t wait for his answer, turning and heading straight for the library door expecting he would follow. Which of course he did, with utmost curiosity.  
  
There was a thickness and gravelly tone in her voice that he couldn’t quite place and as he walked along behind her he tried to figure out what it was.  
  
_Annoyance? Urgency?_  
  
Hillary was taking increasingly quick strides which he was almost struggling to keep up with until they reached a secluded corner of the corridor behind the student lockers and she suddenly turned around and pressed her body to his, backing him against the wall and crashing their lips together.  
  
_Arousal._  
  
They kissed hard and hurried for a moment or two, delirious in the taste and closeness of each other they were craving until Bill pulled back for a breath and his questioning gaze pierced into her.  
  
“Wait, is this what you wanted to come outside for?”  
  
Hillary flashed him a grin, her blue eyes sparkling into his with excitement and exhilaration before nodding. “Yes.”  
  
“Oh! Well in that case-“ Bill grinned back in understanding then spun them quickly around before Hillary realized what was happening so that she was now the one with her back to the wall. He placed his hands firmly on either side of her effectively trapping her there and they stared each other down, the challenge for dominance reflected in both their eyes. Before she could protest to the position she’d found herself in his lips were back on hers and she felt herself melting against him, powerless to do anything but respond and her hand slipped up to the nape of his neck, caressing and drawing him closer to her.  
  
Between breaths they started getting gradually more vocal, whimpers and groans falling from their lips and pouring into each other as though their life depended on it. Hillary could feel Bill getting hard and pressing against her stomach as his hands roamed all over her upper body, touching all of her soft curves over the fabric of her shirt and desperately longing for more.  
  
Hillary pressed herself closer to him, hissing a sharp intake of breath as her center rubbed against his and a bolt of pleasure shocked through her body but it wasn’t nearly enough. She closed her eyes and slid her hands down his back, lingering at the waist belt of his jeans when suddenly-  
  
_Slam!_  
  
The door of the classroom opposite flew open and a hoard of students flooded out and they abruptly sprang apart.  
  
Hillary’s face flushed pink as she hid her head against Bill’s shoulder and he slipped his hand into hers before they ran down the corridor together and retreated to the safety of the student lounge which they found mercifully relatively empty.  
  
They settled themselves into a corner by the vending machines, almost the exact spot where Hillary had first heard Bill’s voice ecstatically describing Arkansas watermelons several months earlier. As they sat down and made themselves comfortable Hillary lay her head against Bill’s shoulder with a sigh while he somewhat awkwardly crossed his legs and strategically draped his hands over his lap until his body calmed down a little. _Not an easy task when the warm breath and soft hair of girl you can’t get out of your mind is tickling against your neck._  
  
“We’re beginning to make quite a habit out of this.” Hillary groaned with a giggle, the disappointment and longing in her voice matching every bit of what he was feeling too.  
  
It had been more than a couple of weeks now, and without fail every single time they had tried to be alone and intimate together something or someone always seemed to squander their plans. Each time Bill negotiated with one of his roommates to stay out for the night one of the others always had an unavoidable last minute reason why he had to stay in. A paper due, a sports game on television, a friend who needed a place to crash that night. Hillary’s place had been equally out of bounds, with her roommate still hauled up in bed with the cold Hillary had accidentally passed onto her and so their dilemma continued.  
  
They had tried to make do with the moments they did have. Agreeing it would happen when it happened but privately both wondering how much longer they would be able to hold out and in the meantime; they were beginning to find it more and more of a struggle keeping their hands to themselves in public.  
  
At a party a couple of nights prior they had found themselves in a nice dark corner of the couch and Hillary had soon made herself comfortable on Bill’s lap. Her arm wrapped loosely around his shoulders as they chatted to a friend while absentmindedly toying with each others hands. Eventually the other person left to go greet somebody else, and making the most of the now secluded couch the couple quickly found themselves kissing. Softly at first but soon more passionately as they gradually got carried away. Forgetting their surroundings from practically the moment their lips connected Hillary had started grinding herself a little against Bill’s lap, feeling his physical response to her through the barrier of their clothing and the thrill of the effect she was having on him spurred her on even further. If they’d been given half the chance to go on like that for much longer both would have been in danger of falling past the point of no return, and Hillary had to crossed her legs tightly as Bill quickly excused himself to the bathroom once they had reluctantly pulled apart following several leering yells of _“Get a room!”_  
  
_Get a room._ Much easier said than done, apparently. They were practically aching to be properly alone together for more than five minutes between classes and determined that one way or another they were going to make it happen. Ideally sooner rather than later.  
  
_In the meantime,_ Hillary decided as she got up from the couch, following Bill into that bathroom to give him a hand finishing what they started didn't seem like such a bad idea…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I won't make them wait *too* much longer!


	7. Beach House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Billary Anniversary everyone!! ♡♡♡ This seemed like a fitting day to post this...

The sky was colored a deep burnt amber as the sun slowly slipped lower down the horizon and met with its reflection on the waves below. The sand beneath their feet was still warm despite the early evening breeze beginning to take hold as the five students sat out on the porch of the beach house playing a card game. Laughter and the taste of beer and the salty sea air hung the atmosphere between them as Bill reshuffled the cards, the evident competitive streak running through all participants resulting in seemingly unending rounds of rematches being declared the moment anybody announced themselves the winner.  
  
Hillary had been spending an increasing amount of time at the beach house since getting to know Bill, and she quickly won over all three of his housemates; Doug, Don and Bill. All quick witted and undoubtedly smart young guys with loud voices and immature streaks that reminded her of her brothers back home. Hillary enjoyed their company a great deal, a feeling which was entirely mutual, and she was quickly welcomed as an honorary member of their little group.  
  
“No sneaking a look okay?” Don instructed the other four closely as he excused himself from the table to go to the bathroom, leaving his freshly dealt cards face down in his place and a mischievous look swept around the group.  
  
Doug watched him turn the corner then reached across to steal a glance at the cards. Hillary rolled her eyes as the rest of the boys watched his expression for clues.  
  
“Dammit!” He slammed the cards back down again and laughter rippled around the table as Doug slumped back in his chair. Hillary reached for her bottle of beer and took a sip, her mind drifting from the card game as her bare foot rubbed against Bill’s under the table and they exchanged a glance.  
  
The couple loved spending time all together as a group, and they thoroughly enjoyed the fun and lively conversations they all had together. But they were both still increasingly restless at rarely having any alone time and privately they had carefully strategized what they hoped would be a successful plan to finally fix that.  
  
_Tonight was the night._  
  
Another hour slowly went by and Bill and Hillary fell increasingly off their usual standard of playing as their attention became far more taken by their own game of footsie going on underneath the table, the effects of the alcohol leading them to believe they were being far more subtle than they actually were.

Once Don was ultimately declared the winner of the final round of cards, the group finally packed them away and a conversation ensued on what they should do next.  
  
“Right!” Doug slapped the table enthusiastically as he rose to his feet. “I reckon we should head over to John’s party before it gets completely dark.”  
  
There were nods of agreement from almost everyone. “Sure. Someone come grab the rest of the beer from the kitchen with me.”  
  
The sounds of chairs scraping against the decking and glass bottles being collected soon harmonized beneath their chatter as the three guys made their move to exit. Only Hillary and Bill hung back, half-heartedly following the others to the door until Hillary suddenly announced an apparently sudden realization which stopped her quite dramatically in her tracks.  
  
“Oh! I’ve just remembered I left my other sandals out on the beach earlier.”  
  
“Oh damn!” Bill exclaimed a little too quickly, prompting a stifled skeptical giggle from Doug at just how well rehearsed this supposed inconvenience was sounding as the two stood frozen to the spot staring at each other.  
  
“Can you help me look for them honey? We can catch the rest of you guys up!” Hillary grabbed Bill by the arm and dragged him in the opposite direction before anyone could question them or either could give away their thinly veiled pretense.     
  
“Do they really think we fell for that?” Don grinned as the three of them slammed the front door shut behind them and sauntered down the porch steps.  
  
“Probably. But I doubt they really care if we didn’t.”  
  
As the engine sounded in the driveway and the car slowly pulled away into the distance Hillary and Bill peered out of the front window to make sure they were really alone and then exchanged a thrilled expectant look. _Finally._  
  
A wave of excitement and slight nerves washed over them, the prospect of actually doing the very thing which had all but consumed their thoughts for the past weeks suddenly becoming real.  
  
“So, how d’you like my acting skills?” Hillary giggled against his shoulder, the sound of her laughter melting away a layer of Bill's nerves as he grinned back at her.  
  
“Award winning, in my book at least.”  
  
She smiled back then leaned in first and they kissed gently, the softness of their lips pressing together slowly and languidly before quickly turning deeper. Hillary let out a contented sigh which went straight to Bill’s crotch and he groaned. For two people with incredibly quick analytical minds all rational thought was suddenly completely thrown out the window and all that remained was the desperate need they had for each other burning at their core.  
  
Neither were really sure who was leading, never stopping long enough for either of them to really engage their brains much beyond the next touch and the next kiss, each new sound they were drawing from each other fueling the fire between them and intensifying their arousal.    
  
_“Bill-"_ Hillary whimpered, barely registering the sound of her own voice as he pressed his center against hers, their still fully clothed bodies searching for any kind of contact.  
  
She needed to feel him inside her so badly. The depth of that connection that nothing else could take the edge off no matter how many times she found her own release thinking about it. And she knew he felt it too as he desperately pawed at her clothes, large hands slipping up underneath her shirt and feeling her smooth invitingly soft skin.

He was so hard he could hardly think straight, almost a month of longing built up inside of him and threatening to end things far too quickly if he didn’t keep it together.  
  
“Upstairs.” Hillary finally managed to utter the word out and bring them back to their senses long enough to drag themselves up to his bedroom, a process considerably drawn out by them stopping and pressing each other against the wall several times over along the way.  
  
They finally made it to his bed and fell back against the sheets slightly ungracefully, lips locked back on each other in an instant as they fumbled their way through undressing. Hillary quickly rid him of his t-shirt and Bill’s hands moved urgently from his own belt buckle to her shirt, lifting the soft fabric up over her head as she wriggled her way out of her shorts.  
  
He stopped for a moment to take in the sight of her wearing just her lilac bra and panties, her creamy skin so perfectly kissable and bare. Checking her expression for permission to proceed, he reached around to her back and unclasped her bra, sliding the garment down from her shoulders and away from her body and he was completely and utterly mesmerized.  
  
“You’re so beautiful Hillary.”

He could hardly take his eyes off her, finally faced with the sight he had been fantasizing since the very first day she had walked into his life, all confidence and glowing and everything he knew he never wanted to be without ever again. She had stolen his breath that day and was having much the same effect now as he quickly drank in every inch of her; the swell of of her breasts and the perfect curve of her tiny waist flowing into the shape of her hips.

Bill slid his large hands down over her body, squeezing and cupping her, watching her face for cues to learn exactly what she liked as she responded to his touch. _So fucking beautiful._  
  
The feeling of his fingers on her bare skin was scrambling her brain, breathless gasps escaping through pink parted lips as she found herself wanting to go slow and to hurry up all at the same time. Hillary finally managed to tug his jeans all the way off and then her eyes fell instantly shut as he kissed her neck, finding her sensitive spot and her whole body quivered in his arms.  
  
She whined his name as he kept on touching her, sighing blissfully as he pulled her body closer to his and she started rubbing herself against his leg, almost bringing him to a complete halt as he noticed the wetness seeping through and darkening the pale cotton of her underwear. His cock twitched in his pants and he held her hips steady as she rolled against him, holding his own breath and desperately trying to keep it together.  
  
_“Fuck,”_ He groaned as she tugged at the waistband of his boxers, trying in vain to pull them down despite the considerable barrier she herself had created by sitting on top of him but she couldn't quite manage to break their connection.  
  
“I need to feel you baby, _please.”_ Her voice was drowning in arousal, reverberating low and sweet against his ear like the slow drip of golden honey.  
  
Bill reached across to his bedside table, knocking several items to the floor in the process as he grabbed one of the four condoms he had placed there ready, just in case something inexplicable happened to the other three and rendered them unusable. Hillary bit her lip with a smirk as the other three scattered across the floor in his stumbling hurry and he glanced sheepishly back at her with a slight grin, their lusty haze lifting for a moment.  
  
“Hey it never hurts to be prepared. After all the time it’s taken us to finally be alone together I’m taking no chances.”  
  
She giggled as he opened up the foil packet before quickly swiping it from him, her delicate fingers taking over as she climbed down from his lap and he was powerlessly to do anything but watch as she threw the wrapper to the floor and rolled it onto his hard length. She could feel him throb in her hand at her touch and the ache between her legs intensified.  
  
He wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle her touching him before he lost it. Capturing her lips and kissing her hard again Bill shifted their positions and lay her down on the bed beneath him. He watched the rise and fall of her chest for a moment, taking in the pinkness of her flushed skin, each breath heavy with anticipation as their eyes met. Hillary reached up to the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her body, nodding her answer to the question neither of them had managed to actually vocalize but knew neither needed to.  
  
She guided him to her entrance and she whimpered as his hardness brushed over her clit. Feeling her delicate fingers take control of him was slowly driving Bill crazy, everything twice as heightened and twice as sensitive knowing what they were about to do and with a steadying breath, he finally pressed himself inside of her.  
  
The gasp that fell from Hillary’s lips as he slowly filled her almost sent Bill over the edge right there and then as he buried himself deep inside her velvety warmth. They both stilled and felt their breath catch, the sheer intimacy of finally being completely as one overwhelming them. Hillary’s fingertips danced lightly over the heat of Bill's skin along his back, love pouring from her body to his with every touch as they locked eyes and both found the most perfect shade of blue staring back at them, reflecting every ounce of pent up desire about to unravel.  
  
_“Hillary- fuck-"_  
  
If she wasn’t addicted to the way he said her name before she was absolutely positive she was now, arching back up into him as he groaned each syllable against her ear. Pure pleasure overwhelmed her senses as she clenched around him, feeling as though he was stretching and touching every single part of her as her whole body gripped him tightly. She wrapped her legs around his body on top of her and squirmed underneath him, urging him to start moving and moaning as they slowly set a rhythm. His lips found their way back to hers as they kissed slowly and deeply and with each stroke inside of her he rocked his hips in time with hers. The feeling of his weight pressing down on her was so incredibly intimate and Hillary dug her fingernails into his back before sliding her hand to rest on his ass, aiding his movements.  
  
“God Bill, _mmh- yess.”_ Her words became more and more jumbled as he hit against her sweet spot and she hissed out a breath, her thighs trembling around his body, _so so close._  
  
He couldn’t get enough of the way she felt around him, dangerously on edge with every thrust into her heat and as he rubbed over her clit it wasn’t long before they both fell over the edge. Their bodies locked together as they held each other, the rest of the world disappearing into nothing but the sensation of feeling so intensely close, bringing each other that pleasure and nothing had ever felt more right.  
  
They both collapsed back against the pillow, breathless and panting and practically glowing once they had come down from their high and eased their bodies apart. Hillary bit her lip as her blissful expression met his and their smiles turned to laughter as they inched back closer to each other and kissed again, never wanting to sever their connection or stop feeling everything they were feeling right in that moment. Bill tangled his fingers through her long hair and she slid her hands up over his broad shoulders and down his back as their lips caressed gently together, savoring the feeling of skin on skin as they lay there completely wrapped up in each other.  
  
They never made it to the party that evening, the hours melting by late into the night as they continued discovering and exploring each other in new ways again and again, as close as two people can be until exhaustion inevitably claimed them.  
  
Bill fell asleep first, completely spent and with his arms still wrapped snugly around Hillary as she lay against his chest totally at peace, listening to the sound of his heartbeat as she cuddled close to him until she slipped into dreaming too, her final thought being the exact same as his as she closed her eyes and felt sure that in all her life she had never felt safer and never felt more loved.


	8. Virginia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated this!! I've been struggling to write anything lately, time-wise and motivation-wise but this chapter has been sitting on my laptop mostly written for ages so I'm trying and get back on track and give this some kind of ending. Chapter 10 and 11 are mostly written so I just need to get to the end of 9 and then I'll carry on posting again. Thank you sm to anyone still actually reading this!!

“This is a disaster!” Hillary threw the scissors down dramatically onto the bed in despair and Bill poked his head out of the bathroom curiously.  
  
“What’s the matte- _..oh.”_ Hillary turned around to face him and Bill caught his first glimpse at his girlfriend’s freshly trimmed hair, now curiously sticking up in various different directions and just a little uneven. She crossed her arms and glared at him as he blinked and stared, daring him to so much as chuckle as her blue eyes gleamed dangerously.  
  
“Don’t you dare fucking laugh, William Jefferson.”  
  
She looked so adorable with her fierce expression and slightly spiky tufts of hair that Bill had to bite down even harder on his lower lip to hide his smile.  
  
“I like it.” He eventually settled on the safest response option available to him, expressing it so sincerely that Hillary’s frown automatically began to soften. “Really I do it’s just…um, different.”  
  
“ _Different_ isn’t exactly what I was going for.”  
  
“…What _were_ you going for exactly?”  
  
“Shorter…” Hillary frowned, trying to keep a straight face despite starting to see the funny side as she turned back to her reflection in the mirror and sighed.  
  
“Well don’t worry baby, I’ve got enough hair for the both of us.” Bill shook his mass of thick viking style hair back as though he was advertising a new luxury shampoo and Hillary finally let out a ripple of laughter and gave him a shove.  
  
“Meeting my boyfriend’s mother with less hair than him isn’t exactly how I envisioned this going. She’s gonna think I’m in some punk band.”  
  
They both laughed at that but Hillary was still starting to feel the nerves bubbling up inside her again at the prospect. She had heard a fair amount about Virginia Clinton Kelly over the past few weeks that she and Bill had been seeing each other, and everything she had learned so far indicated that this woman was from a completely different world to her in a seemingly endless number of ways. It wasn’t that Bill had spoken about her overly much, but Hillary had noted the unmistakable awe and highly held regard in his voice whenever he mentioned anything to do with _“mother”_ , and it both endeared her and intimidated her all at the same time.  
  
Breaking her out of her thoughts at that moment a car pulled up outside, and Hillary’s head snapped towards the window in a panic before Bill lay a calming hand on her shoulder and they both peered between the curtains.  
  
“She’s gonna love you.”  
  
“You don’t know that.” Hillary mumbled, watching the street below intently before flinching back as the car door swung open and a glossy high heel adorned foot stepped out onto the sidewalk.  
  
“I do.” Bill kissed the top of her freshly cropped hair and slipped his hand through hers as they headed downstairs to open the front door. “You’re very lovable.”  
  
Hillary felt the warmth of his affirmation wrap around her but her heart was still beating rapidly hard enough in her chest that she was sure he would be able to hear it.

Bill gave her small hand one final squeeze before Hillary reached for the door handle, bracing herself with a steadying breath and finally swinging it open.  
  
_“Billy!”_

Virginia Clinton Kelly flung her arms out in delight toward her son and enthusiastically kissed his cheeks, leaving behind bright pink lipstick smudges there and ruffling her perfectly manicured fingernails through his long hair. Hillary found herself rendered mute during their embrace, standing to the side in slightly awkward silence as they greeted each other until a second later she felt Bill’s hand on her lower back as he turned to her.    
  
“Mother, this is Hillary Rodham. Hillary, this is my mother, Virginia.”  
  
A brief pause followed as the two sized each other up. A moment which Bill later joked with Hillary as being like two alien species first coming into contact with each other. _It certainly felt like that._  
  
“Hillary.” Virginia huffed out her name slowly in her southern drawl, as though she was getting her mouth around a strange new foreign word. Piercing eyes beneath heavy false eyelashes looked her up and down quick as a flash before finally giving her a dazzling smile to hide her bewilderment at the unruly appearance of the girl in front of her. Mostly. “Well! It’s a pleasure to meet you honey.”  
  
Hillary quickly returned the sentiment with a warm smile of her own, desperately scanning her mind for something interesting to say and wondering for the hundredth time that day what she might have in common with this woman but still far coming up with nothing. Luckily Bill came to the rescue of both of them and launched into a funny story from one of their recent lecturers, easing the atmosphere and Hillary smiled at up at him gratefully as he led them into the next room where the table was set for lunch.

 

* * *

 

“She’s a little…unconventional.” Virginia chose her words uncharacteristically carefully as she sat alone with Bill in the kitchen after the meal, watching as he dried the dishes and beamed from ear to ear in a way she wasn’t sure she could ever recall seeing before.  
  
Privately, Virginia couldn't help wondering what exactly it was this _Hillary_ had managed to light up in her son that all _she_ had done to care for him since the day he was born apparently hadn’t. Her grip tightened around her mug of coffee and she took another sip as Bill returned all the freshly washed cutlery from the draining board back to the drawer.  
  
“She’s incredible.” Bill breathed, glossing completely over any negative undertones and determined that his mother was seeing everything he adored in Hillary. To him, it was almost impossibly inconceivable that anyone could see anything else.  
  
The three of them had shared a fairly amicable lunch. Virginia had complimented the food, mostly thrown together that morning by the young couple out of various pre-made packets and cans, but she didn’t need to know that. The conversation had alternated mostly back and forth between Bill and Hillary and then Bill and Virginia, like a silent competitive game of table tennis which nobody particularly won. Hillary had made several attempts to engage with Virginia, asking about her work and her life back in Arkansas but she hadn’t gotten a lot back beyond vague polite answers and little interest in returning her questions.  
  
Bill had felt himself being pulled in two different directions but he was convinced that it was just temporary, that the two most important women in his life were just beginning getting to know each other. _They just needed time to realize everything they had in common._  
  
“I could show her a thing or two about how to fix herself up at least.” Virginia suggested to Bill as he finished up in the kitchen, a part of her hoping Hillary might overhear from the next room.  
  
Bill shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t think she’s really into that.”  
  
“Mm, you don’t say.” Virginia arched a carefully sculpted eyebrow and Bill started to frown. “Oh Billy I’m only teasing. She’s…great. Lovely.” _For now at least,_ she just about managed to resist adding. “She makes you laugh and she’s clearly a smart girl. I’m happy that you’re happy.”  
  
Bill’s face broke back into a wide grin, flinging his arms around his mother and placing a kiss on her meticulously powdered cheek.  
  
“I really am.”

 

* * *

 

In the living room, Hillary was taking a long hard look at herself in front of the mirror. The way Virginia’s silent critical gaze had eyed her up and down, saying nothing and saying everything all at the same time was lingering uncomfortably in the back of her mind. _Should I have made more of an effort…_ she wondered to herself, _maybe it was naive of her to assume she would ever be accepted by somebody who came from a place where the desire to doll yourself up appeared to be second nature._  
  
Part of her hated where her thoughts were at, but doubt was creeping into every corner of her mind and she was struggling to eradicate it taking over completely. She had always been so steadfast in her belief that those things shouldn’t make a difference. Hair and clothes and makeup, if you wanted to put time and energy into perfecting them then fine, but if it wasn’t your thing then it didn’t matter. _Maybe she had just always wanted to believe that it didn’t matter._  
  
At that moment Bill came wandering back into the room and caught her looking at herself. Interrupting her train of thought with an entirely different one of his own, he approached her from behind and hummed in approval as his hands quickly found their way down along the curves of her body.  
  
“I love you in these jeans.”  
  
If only for a moment, Hillary felt all her innermost doubts and insecurities melt away as the heat of his touch pulled her out from her spiraling thoughts. She basked in the soothing glow of his words for little more than a few seconds before gasping and quickly batting his hands away from where they were nicely squeezing her.  
  
“Your mother-"  
  
“Is in the bathroom.” Bill finished for her, interrupting her panic with a kiss as his hands slipped back down to where they had previously been very much enjoying caressing her.  
  
“Mmmh,” Hillary sighed contently between kisses, “I missed you.”  
  
“We’ve been in the same house all day.”  
  
“I know…” She let her voice trail off, _but it hadn’t been the same._  
  
“And,” Bill continued with a flourish, determined to get a laugh out of her, “she absolutely loved the store bought pie we assured her we baked from scratch.”  
  
The pair began to giggle and Hillary slid her arms around Bill’s waist and interlaced her fingers behind him, pulling them slightly closer together.  
  
“I don’t think she was quite so ecstatic about my DIY haircut.”  
  
Bill pretended to look shocked, tucking a stray lock softly behind her ear and she rolled her eyes.  
  
“God I know I didn’t exactly help matters, but the way she looked at me I was half worried she was going to drag me to her car and pack me straight off to a salon right there and then.”  
  
Bill chuckled slightly awkwardly, hearing his mother's words from earlier lingering in the back of his head before dismissing them and grinning as Hillary’s lips curled into a smile too and she batted her eyelashes overly deliberately. “She must be positively dying to turn me into a proper southern belle.” _Or to get rid of me entirely_ she added silently to herself, deciding Bill probably didn’t need to be hearing that particular nagging thought.  
  
“You just need to get used to each other that’s all. I promise. It's just early days, I bet you’ll soon find you’ve got more in common than you think and then I’ll be the one who can’t get a word in edgeways.” He quickly assured her, coming to the conclusion it was probably best not to share his conversation in the kitchen earlier, certain Virginia hadn't really meant it and convincing himself that they would soon come to appreciate each other the way he did.  
  
“Maybe.” Hillary sighed, slipping her fingers through his as they rested their foreheads together. She wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t say so. For all the glowing accounts she had heard from Bill about his mother; his excitement at introducing her to the person who had brought him into this world and raised him to be the man she had fallen so much in love with, Hillary was having trouble matching the woman of his enthusiastic descriptions to the woman who had stood before her that morning and made next to no effort to hide her glaring critical gaze as she looked her up and down.  
  
But Bill seemed fairly blissfully oblivious to the tensions between the two, a fact Hillary wasn’t sure if she was frustrated by or grateful for. She so wanted to make an effort with his mother for his sake, but she was getting the distinct impression that willingness wasn’t particularly mutual on Virginia’s part.  
  
Still, maybe it was just early days like he said. _After all, he knows her best._  
  
They suddenly heard the sound of the toilet flushing and the tap running from the bathroom on the other side of the house and reluctantly pulled apart, heading back into the kitchen hand in hand to say their goodbyes. Subconsciously, or perhaps more consciously than she cared to admit, Hillary attempted to smooth down her hair as they approached the doorway, but no sooner had she made her attempt to tame it she felt Bill’s fingers ruffling back through haphazard locks.  
  
“You never have to change for anybody honey.”    
  
He kissed her cheek and flung his arm around her shoulder, squeezing her tight and Hillary found herself making a conscious choice, in that moment at least, to believe him, holding tight to the hope that he was right.


End file.
